I cringe when I hear talk about a recession…it brings back memories of the ‘Great Recession’. We had three spec homes under construction at that time. Add fuel to the fire, my company was the only ‘modern’ spec builder active in Arlington at that time.

As luck would have it, Arlington recovered very quickly and we were able to sell the homes, only one at a loss.

So when I heard ‘recession’ recently, I needed to let go of that past experience and deep dive into the present housing market conditions in northern Virginia. I’m happy to report that real estate remains strong locally.

In the last 5 months I’ve been all over northern Virginia looking at homes with my relocation buyers. Yesterday, I wanted to see the status of these homes so I pulled them up online to see the sold price and days on market. All the homes were ‘move-in’ ready (as in they didn’t need work or updates or renovation). Interestingly, all sold for asking or above and with reasonable days on market. Wow!

Early October I listed a home near Westover in Arlington. The house went under contract within 4 hours of listing. It’s a beautiful home. Yes, I helped the owner prepare for the sale by updating the interior. Plus the home was staged wonderfully. The outcome? Over asking price with No contingencies!

How are interest rates affecting housing sales? As I last reported, low inventory and rising interest rates make a weird environment. Beautiful homes continue to sell quickly at top dollar. Home sales in Fairfax County are down .8% but prices are up 3.3%. In Arlington sales are up 1.7%, prices are up 3.5%.

That’s all for now. Stay safe and happy. If you have any questions about building or real estate or just want to say ‘hello’ please feel free to connect with me at 703-928-7109

Till then, take care,